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How to grow your own online community at FundingBox

You probably know that FundingBox makes public funding simple offering personalized advice about funding opportunities but FundingBox real mission goes far beyond. Our real goal is to create thrilling communities related to tech and entrepreneurship and with that purpose we provide through FundingBox Enterprise with a comprehensive set of tools to freely build and grow communities.

So if you have a particular interest or you are part of a group, organization or community we provide you the software and tools to engage with your peers and beyond. You can also join and participate in some of the spaces and communities already created but in any case we encourage you to take ownership and to create your very own Community.

It’s always a good idea to gather forces with a few people who care about the same things you do. Find peers, friends and colleagues and get the conversation going. Start small and make it grow. The benefits you can get deserve well the effort.

I’ve read plenty of articles and done my own mash-up with 10 specific recommendations to grow online communities. Here you have them:

Take a stance. Define and articulate your purpose. Understand why you are building a community, and who you are building it for. Brand the personality of the community with a tagline that expresses what is all about.

Before you launch, come up with a few key ideas you’d like to introduce to the community.

Think in a range of ROLES. Basically, there are five roles that people have that change over time:

Visitors need to be welcomed.

Novices need instruction.

Regulars need rewards and perks.

Leaders need to be empowered.

Elders need to be appreciated and honored.

Make the members feel part of something special. Identify something people believe in and invite them to talk to each other.

The facilitator/moderator/host of an online community is a key role.

Foster member interactions.

Seed and spark conversations.

Ask thought-provoking questions.

Aim for slow, steady growth and a high level of participation from each member.

If you’re not continuously asking members to share their thoughts and experiences, members will never truly bond as a group.

Content is king: It all start with great and curated content. Content that is educational, inspirational or entertaining for your community.

Consistency: take it as a routine, you have to publish content on regular basis

Don’t convince, organize the convinced.

Every community has conflicts and they are good for their growth and stickiness. Conflicts can be invigorating and dynamic, yet it can also tear a community apart. Celebrate what is admired, and let people know what won’t be tolerated.

Promote cyclic events. Communities come together around regular events. They are a great opportunity to meet face to face and go to the more powerful face to face.

So there you have something to start with. Please leave any comment you may have and if you want to talk to us don’t hesitate to write us. My email: andres@fundingbox.com